9.95
Noob
So, I want to take a moment here and explain what goes into being an official.
A little background on me:
I am nationally certified USSSA Softball Umpire. USSSA = United States Specialty Sports Association. I have umpired softball for 6 years, and where I officiate, I am one of the most requested umpires in the league as well as the county.
My resume includes officiating the highest level of Softball allowed in the the county I live in, including State qualifying tournaments that help determine who will attend the National USSSA Finals(for that division) held at the Disney Softball/Baseball complex in Florida.
It also includes being requested by teams that are IN MY OWN DIVISION to officiate games that have an impact upon my own team's final placing and ability to enter the playoffs. These teams have told the league and my assignor that they prefer me even when the assignor was concerned that there might be a conflict of interest.
I have also officiated my own team, that I put together, play on, and manage. My team had 13 players, the other team had 10, exactly the amount of players needed to play. The umpire assigned to our game got sick and we were going to have to re-schedule the games. The team we were playing was a team I had officiated before and requested that I put on my umpire uniform and officiate the game. I called the assignor, asked if it was ok, and put the other team's manager on the phone who then explained that he knew that I would be fair and call the game correctly. I did just that, because I hold my own teammates to a certain standard: that they understand the rules and that I expect them to follow the rules at all times...whether I'm a player or an umpire.
Now, on to being an official:
All of my time as an umpire has helped me be a better TO. The experiences are very much the same.
-You're responsible for the well being of the event
-You're responsible for the rules, knowing the ins and outs of all of them better than the players(and as you will learn if you choose to be an official, most players BARELY understand the rules)
-You're responsible for knowing the correct rulings for situations, NO MATTER HOW STRANGE THEY MAY BE. Think you've seen it all? Think again...
-Your job is thankless, be prepared for that. If you're doing it for any other reason other than, "It has to be done", then you're doing it for the wrong reason and just don't bother.
-You are the ENEMY. There is no way to sugar coat this. Every single decision you make will piss off SOMEONE. You will not make everyone happy. You need THICK SKIN to be able to not care. People will call you names. People will blame you. People will talk about you behind your back. Like I said, if you're doing this for any other reason, the time to duck out is now. If you're doing it for any other reasons, YOU WILL be affected by this stuff...and you simply cannot afford to be affected by it. You have to simply learn to not care. EVERY SINGLE TOURNAMENT will be YOU vs. EVERY PLAYER. Too bad, so sad...that's the way it is.
-You're responsible for being unbiased. Fair...every single time. You have to literally STOP CARING about who wins and who loses. If your friends win, congratulate them and move on. You're allowed to be human and be happy for your friend, but ultimately you must learn to NOT CARE if they win or lose.
-You must learn to see games differently. Instead of looking at the game and instead of thinking about gameplay, you think about RULES...and ONLY RULES.
-You have to learn to think on the fly, fix problems as FAIRLY AS POSSIBLE IN THE GIVEN SITUATION, knowing that you will make SOMEONE unhappy. You have to learn to minimize the damage, and go with the "lesser of two evils" in many cases.
-You have to be willing to be the bad guy.
-You must be unable to be bought. Yes, some people are just that crazy. You have to be stronger than that, period.
-You must learn to exercise common sense. Sometimes people break rules without knowing it. Use common sense. Sometimes a stern look, a warning, or just a funny remark will stop that from ever happening again. Not EVERY offense needs capital punishment.
I may or may not add to this as time goes on. I will definitely share some war stories as both umpire and TO though. They will be good for a laugh at times, and they will be good for learning for new/potential future officials.
A little background on me:
I am nationally certified USSSA Softball Umpire. USSSA = United States Specialty Sports Association. I have umpired softball for 6 years, and where I officiate, I am one of the most requested umpires in the league as well as the county.
My resume includes officiating the highest level of Softball allowed in the the county I live in, including State qualifying tournaments that help determine who will attend the National USSSA Finals(for that division) held at the Disney Softball/Baseball complex in Florida.
It also includes being requested by teams that are IN MY OWN DIVISION to officiate games that have an impact upon my own team's final placing and ability to enter the playoffs. These teams have told the league and my assignor that they prefer me even when the assignor was concerned that there might be a conflict of interest.
I have also officiated my own team, that I put together, play on, and manage. My team had 13 players, the other team had 10, exactly the amount of players needed to play. The umpire assigned to our game got sick and we were going to have to re-schedule the games. The team we were playing was a team I had officiated before and requested that I put on my umpire uniform and officiate the game. I called the assignor, asked if it was ok, and put the other team's manager on the phone who then explained that he knew that I would be fair and call the game correctly. I did just that, because I hold my own teammates to a certain standard: that they understand the rules and that I expect them to follow the rules at all times...whether I'm a player or an umpire.
Now, on to being an official:
All of my time as an umpire has helped me be a better TO. The experiences are very much the same.
-You're responsible for the well being of the event
-You're responsible for the rules, knowing the ins and outs of all of them better than the players(and as you will learn if you choose to be an official, most players BARELY understand the rules)
-You're responsible for knowing the correct rulings for situations, NO MATTER HOW STRANGE THEY MAY BE. Think you've seen it all? Think again...
-Your job is thankless, be prepared for that. If you're doing it for any other reason other than, "It has to be done", then you're doing it for the wrong reason and just don't bother.
-You are the ENEMY. There is no way to sugar coat this. Every single decision you make will piss off SOMEONE. You will not make everyone happy. You need THICK SKIN to be able to not care. People will call you names. People will blame you. People will talk about you behind your back. Like I said, if you're doing this for any other reason, the time to duck out is now. If you're doing it for any other reasons, YOU WILL be affected by this stuff...and you simply cannot afford to be affected by it. You have to simply learn to not care. EVERY SINGLE TOURNAMENT will be YOU vs. EVERY PLAYER. Too bad, so sad...that's the way it is.
-You're responsible for being unbiased. Fair...every single time. You have to literally STOP CARING about who wins and who loses. If your friends win, congratulate them and move on. You're allowed to be human and be happy for your friend, but ultimately you must learn to NOT CARE if they win or lose.
-You must learn to see games differently. Instead of looking at the game and instead of thinking about gameplay, you think about RULES...and ONLY RULES.
-You have to learn to think on the fly, fix problems as FAIRLY AS POSSIBLE IN THE GIVEN SITUATION, knowing that you will make SOMEONE unhappy. You have to learn to minimize the damage, and go with the "lesser of two evils" in many cases.
-You have to be willing to be the bad guy.
-You must be unable to be bought. Yes, some people are just that crazy. You have to be stronger than that, period.
-You must learn to exercise common sense. Sometimes people break rules without knowing it. Use common sense. Sometimes a stern look, a warning, or just a funny remark will stop that from ever happening again. Not EVERY offense needs capital punishment.
I may or may not add to this as time goes on. I will definitely share some war stories as both umpire and TO though. They will be good for a laugh at times, and they will be good for learning for new/potential future officials.
Good writeup.
